Denae Hues
by Dragon angel knight
Summary: Denae Hues, Dee for short, is a Vulpix-human hybrid on a quest to become Pokemon master. Her journey starts at a hybrid orphanage a little way outside of Palet Town. Reed and review please, rated for mature scenes in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Denae Hues was walking the grounds of the orphanage she lived at, thinking about the usual teenager stuff; relationships, fashion, schoolwork. Y'know, the usual.

"Hey, Dee!" Yelled a voice from a few yards away, "Wanna hang out?"

"Sure," Dee said non-committaly. Everyone at the orphanage knew her as Dee, they said it was easier than trying to pronounce her full name.

Dee, like everyone else at the orphanage, was a Pokèmon-human hybrid. Dee was human and Vulpix, her father was human, her mother was a Ninetails. The only thing that she had from her family to remember them by was a necklace of pearls that had a small red stone set into one of the pearls. There was also a lot of other hybrids, including a few Luxray.

Dee looked up from her walking and saw a small cute Shinx Hybrid running up to her from a group of the younger children.

"Hi, Hikaru!" Dee said brightening considerably as the twelve year old came to a halt next to her. She liked Hikaru a lot more than the other males in the orphanage. He was kind and light hearted, not the bossy assholes that the others were.

Hikaru grinned and said, "Hiya, what's up?"

"Not much, just taking a walk, you're welcome to join me," Dee said to the younger kid.

"Sure, hey, y'know that some of the others have been saying that there's a trainer near the fences," Hikaru said as they walked the grounds, "I don't believe them though…"

"Why not? There really could be a trainer out there," Dee said hopefully.

"The older kids pick on me a lot… So I tend not to believe them. Well, You don't pick on me, Dee, that's why I like you," Hikaru said.

"Oh, well that's not nice of them," Dee said with a pout and a hug for Hikaru, "I'm glad I could shed some light in your life."

Hikaru blushed and said, "Yeah…"

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Later that night, Dee sat up on the roof of the Dorm and looked out over the forest without really seeing it. The orphanage itself was surrounded by a large forest with a fence around the perimeter to keep the ground dwelling Pokèmon from getting onto the grounds. The grounds had three buildings, a cafeteria, a dorm room and a school house.

"I knew I'd find you out here, sis," said a voice from behind Dee.

Dee turned around and saw a shapely Luxray female walking up to her from the door that led onto the roof from the lower floor.

"Hey, Lucy," Dee said with a bright smile, "You always could read me like a book."

Lucy and Dee were left at the orphanage at about the same time. They had met and became close friends during the sixteen years they had been together. More recently, they had even started a tentative relationship.

"Hee, yeah, but that's what I love about you," Lucy said as she kissed Dee on the cheek.

Dee blushed a little under her fur and kissed Lucy back. She turned and looked back up at the sky and asked, "Do you ever wonder what's out there?"

Lucy blinked in surprise and asked, "What makes you say that all of a sudden?"

Dee giggled a little then said, "Forget I asked…" She swooped in on Lucy and kissed her on the lips.

"C'mon, let's get to bed," Dee said playfully.

"No arguments here!" Lucy said happily.


	2. Chapter 2

Dee woke up the next morning feeling very content and warm. She rolled over to see Lucy still sleeping and admired everything about her lover from the blue fur that covered Lucy's face, the jet black fur that covered her tail, except for the end, which had a yellow cross at the end. Dee loved the way Lucy looked when she slept, but remembered that she needed to go to the councilor so she could get her trainer's permit. It had been six years since she applied for it, but the Pokémon League was having trouble dealing with hybrid trainers, which technically made them Pokémon as well. The reason they hesitated was because the last Pokémon to try that was THE Mewtwo, and he ended up trying to destroy the world's population with his super clone army. Dee reasoned that if she was in their position, she'd probably think two or three times about letting hybrids take up training, considering that a few of them could use elemental attacks, like Lucy and the way she used a small Thunder Wave when she and Dee slept together.

Dee got up out of the bed, tearing herself away from Lucy for a while so she could go and take a fire bath in her room on the floor that was specifically made for the fire types. She got dressed as quietly as she could, but started when Lucy asked, "Going already?"

"Yeah, I have an appointment with Kai," Dee said with a smile.

"Oh… I'll come with you, y'know, for moral support," Lucy said, getting out of the bed.

"You don't have to, but thanks anyway," Dee said as she pulled on her blouse over her head. As soon as she got the shirt pulled down, Lucy swooped in for a kiss and said, "I'm going and that's final, got that cutie?"

Dee just sighed after they broke apart and shook her head while she looked around the room for her skirt.

---------------------------------------------

Lucy and Dee walked out of Lucy's room together and went to Dee's room so she could take her bath and change into some clean clothes. After that, they walked downstairs to Kai's office. Kai was the counselor for the orphanage. If you wanted a particular job, Kai would do his best to make sure that you got it, whether it was something he approved of or not. Dee reached for the handle to the oak door, but took a step back as an extremely pissed off Mewtwo hybrid stormed out of the office. He nearly knocked Lucy over before he said shortly, "Sorry…." He looked at Dee with a strange look in his eye before he turned on his heel and left.

"Don't worry about Rose, girls, he's just pissed because I beat him in Chess again," came Kai's voice from the office. Rose was a weird person, even compared to some of the more questionable hybrids running around the place. First on the list was that he was a legendary hybrid, which was extremely rare. Apparently Mewtwo had fallen in love with a human and ended up having a son. The mother probably didn't want to stay with Mewtwo after she found out what he really was and had abandoned the baby Mewtwo hybrid at the orphanage. The second thing on the weird list was that where his father was a pale violet color and his tail was a rich purple, the son was a pale pink with a dark pink tail, hence the name "Rose" for a male.

Kai, on the other hand, was an Espeon hybrid. His purple fur looked like velvet and probably felt like it too. His ears stuck out at the top of his head with the little tufts of fur hanging down onto the sides of his face. The orb that an Espeon usually had was there too, dead center on his forehead and the forked tail was waving around lazily behind him. Kai was wearing a white suit with a black tie and black armbands just above his elbows. Like Kai had just said, there was a ruined Chess board in front of him with the white king completely obliterated from the board.

"Have a seat, Dee," Kai said to her, then turned to Lucy, "I know that you love her, but you really don't need to be here, you'll have your chance just like everyone else…. Is what I'd usually say, but at the moment, I really don't give a damn."

Lucy just took that as an offer to sit down, and sat next to Dee who looked at Kai intently and asked, "Well, what did they say? Tell me!!"

"Alright you feisty little girl, just settle down, or I'll make you settle down!" Lucy said, silencing Dee with a sudden crotch rub that made her shiver with pleasure. Kai looked pointedly away at this and said, "Yes, well, about that, Dee…."

Lucy stopped rubbing Dee and looked at Kai, as did Dee. "You… are an official Pokémon trainer now. Here's your license," said Kai as he handed Dee a Pokèdex, "You'll need to go and see Professor Oak tomorrow, got it?"

Dee took the Pokèdex from Kai with a look of mixed excitement and sorrow. She looked over at Lucy, who just had a sad smile on her face as she watched her lover's dream just come true.


	3. Chapter 3

Dee had just finished packing up her things and was now sitting on the roof of the dorms like she normally would. Dee was about to fall pleasantly asleep as well. She gazed up at the stars and let her mind wander. She didn't hear the others walk up behind her, and she didn't notice Mark, the Machamp hybrid using Wake-up Slap to wake her back up and about the entire orphanage shouting out a deafening "SURPRISE!!"

Dee looked around in confusion untill Lucy came up behind her and put an arm around the extremely embarrassed Vulpix hybrid. "Wha…? Did you plan this, Lucy? Dee asked.

"Actually, no… That particular honor would go to Rose," Lucy said matter of factly, "He even managed to get all of the legendary hybrids to come down from their rooms and live a little."

"Wow…. That's really thoughtful of him…" Dee said, looking thoughtful. She looked around and everyone she knew was here to wish her good luck on her journey. She looked through the crowd untill she spotted Rose and his little sister, Sara floating by his shoulder. Sara was a Mew, they both had the same father, because Mewtwo and Mew themselves had come to leave Sara with her older brother. Rose had met his father and asked why he didn't want his son, but Mewtwo looked at him and said telepathically so that only Rose could hear, "Sorry…" before he'd flown off with Mew. Rose had resented his father for that ever since, and that was what made him so edgy all the time.

Dee extracted herself from Lucy's grasp, telling her that she'd wanted to go and thank Rose for the party, which was a hit with everyone in the room. Dee walked over to Rose, who pretended that he didn't notice her.

"Rose… why did you plan this party for me?" Dee asked, "You usually don't express yourself at all… Why start now?"

Rose looked at Dee and sighed. Then he said, "Would you be willing to talk with me in private?"

"Of course," Dee said, her curiocity aroused.

"Follow me please," Rose said with Sara following close behind.

Dee followed Rose out the back door of the cafeteria and out into the courtyard. Rose sat down on a bench and motioned for Dee to do the same. She chose to sit on a bench facing Rose, as she didn't really know what kind of person he really was.

"You asked why I threw this party for you," Rose said, breaking the uncomfortable silence between them.

"Yes," Dee answered, "from what I hear from your sister, you really don't like things like that…"

Dee and Sara liked hanging out a lot, so they had become friends really quickly.

Rose reached up and caught his sister in a quick hug, which made the little Mew squeal happily. He let his sister go after a second, and said, "She's right, I usually don't like any social events… mainly because everyone tends to stare at me… But I figured... just this once... I'd tolerate it." He added something else that Dee couldn't quite make out, but it made Rose blush furiously under his thin layer of fur. Dee got up from her bench and sat down next to Rose. She sat back and looked up at the stars like she would if she was sitting on top of the dorm building. She looked at Rose, who had stolen several glances at Dee when he thought she wasn't looking. She could tell that his heart was racing, but that he refused to take advantage of the situation, like the Growlith and Arcanine hybrids and even Lucy.

"You have a crush on me," Lucy stated as she looked back up at the stars.

Rose sighed heavily and said while looking at the ground, "Yeah…"

"Why didn't you say anything sooner?" Dee asked.

"I… I'd try, but something always held me back…" Rose said.

"You're shy?" Dee asked, surprised.

"I guess that's the Mew in me…." Rose said with a sad smile, "If I'd gotten over it sooner…"

"We'll never know, now will we?" Dee asked, "But I can think of one way to make up for it…"

"What's that?" Rose asked, still looking at the ground.

"You'll see," Dee said, "Just wait here, okay?"

Rose just nodded and looked up at the stars as Dee got up and ran back into the cafeteria.

She looked around for Lucy and found her over by the punch bowl. Dee went over to her and hugged Lucy from behind.

"What do you want?" Lucy asked.

"How did you know?" Dee asked, taken aback.

"Well… you're not wearing your strap on, so the only thing I can think of is that you want something," Lucy said with certainty, "Out with it."

"Okay…." Dee said and then explained what Rose had just confessed.

"Oh," Lucy said as Dee finished her explanation.

"So, what's the verdict?" Dee asked, "Can I do that or not?"

"If you want too…" Lucy said, "But on one condition."

"Um…. What's it going to be?" Dee asked, guessing what her perverted lover wanted.

"I'm coming with you," Lucy said playfully, "I like Rose too, and I just wanted to make sure that you were okay with it before I did anything."

Dee thought about it, then said, "I'm alright with it, but I don't know what we're going to do about Sara though…"

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Dee and Lucy walked back out to where Rose and Sara were playing a small game of Shadow Ball Tennis when Rose noticed both of them walking up. He promptly got hit with the blob of dark energy and made his sister giggle cutely like all Mew do when they're happy.

"WH-what did you ask her?" Rose stammered nervously.

Dee walked up to Rose and whispered in his ear. Then she kissed Rose on the cheek. Rose blushed and looked up at Sara and said, "Sis, why don't you go inside and enjoy the party?"

Sara looked at her brother with a curious look on her face, then a look of realization. She immediately burst out in a giggle, then nodded and flew inside to play with the Shaymin hybrid that had just been found on the door step.

Rose blushed and shook his head after his sister left saying, "She embarrasses me way too much…"

"Well, that's what siblings are for," Dee said as she moved closer to Rose, "I thought you might like something to remember me by…"

She kissed Rose on the lips and he kissed back, a little unsure at first, but he relaxed a little as they went on. He removed their clothes while Lucy took hers off a little ways away. She stashed the clothes so they could find them again later and moved over to Rose and Dee who had already started to give him a blow job. Lucy came up behind Dee and started licking her pussy as Dee worked Rose up to a breaking point, let him calm down a little, then worked him up again.

Dee moaned a little through her mouthful but kept on going. Rose looked like he was in heaven when Dee finally let him cum in her mouth. Dee climaxed into Lucy's mouth just as she had pulled her mouth off of Rose's dick. Dee moaned and collapsed against Rose's thigh, then moved up and looked the Mewtwo hybrid in the face. She spread her legs a little and asked, "You ready?"

Rose nodded and Dee put a hand on his dick to help guide it into her pussy. This was her first time with a guy, but she'd already guessed the mechanics while she was with Lucy. Lucy went up to Rose's face and squatted over him with her pussy exposed. "Lick me," She said simply as she started to make out with Dee. Rose complied and started to lick Lucy's pussy. They were both moaning like people afflicted as time moved on. Lucy had came on Rose's face twice while Dee had climaxed twice on his dick. It was a little painful for her, but she was a bit better off because Lucy was kissing her still. They broke for air a few times, but went right back at it. Rose moaned for a final enjoyable eternity, then he came in Dee's pussy, a little of the sticky white substance oozing out a little.

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Dee and Lucy switched after that and Dee started to make out with Rose while Lucy stuck his still throbbing dick into her own pussy. Dee left off kissing Rose for a while and moved over to Lucy and started to lick both Rose's dick and Lucy's pussy as they continued. They both came at the same time and it got on Dee's face as she closed an eye to make sure that none of it got into it and irritated the eye.

Lucy and Rose flopped on the ground, panting while Dee came up behind Rose and lay down next to him. She wrapped the Mewtwo hybrid in a hug and said, "That's from me…. And I want to thank you for throwing me the party. It means a lot to me that you care."

Rose returned the hug and said, "Thank you… I don't think I'll ever forget you… kind of hard for me to do that anyway…"

They got up after a few moments more rest and cleaned up. They got their clothes on and went back inside, where they partied a little more before Kai came in and joined for a bit. After another hour of that, Kai looked at the clock and said, "Alright, everyone needs to get to bed now, Dee has a big day tomorrow and I'm sure that she needs plenty of rest."

Lucy and Dee looked at each other and grinned. They ran up to Dee's room and immediately fell asleep, exhausted by the day's events.


	4. Chapter 4

Dee woke to Lucy kissing her softly with silent tears falling on her face. Dee kissed back and whispered something in Lucy's ear. Lucy smiled to herself and then got off of Dee.

"C'mon, Dee," Lucy said, "Let's get you started."

Dee nodded and grabbed her pack and Pokèdex. They left for the door hand in hand.

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Dee walked out the front gate of the orphanage as everyone behind her waved good bye. Dee had a small trinket in her hand, something that Rose had apparently made for her the previous night using his psychic powers. He had come up shortly after Dee and Lucy had left her room and given it to her. It was shaped like plume of fire, and it almost looked like it would catch anything it touched on fire if it caught the light just the right way. It was blue and felt a little chilly to touch, which Dee just assumed was due to the fact that it was cold outside.

She looked back at the orphanage one last time and waved at her friends and family one last time and walked on towards her journey.

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Dee was walking along the forest when she saw a trainer. He pretended not to notice her and walked along, his Raichu following obediently behind. The Raichu looked at Dee and asked in the Pokemon language, "What are you?"

Dee said, "A hybrid."

The trainer looked at Dee and said in a harsh tone, "Don't talk to my Pokemon, filthy half-breed."

Dee was taken aback and just walked away, not wanting to make a scene. The trainer turned and continued as if nothing ever happened. The Raichu just looked at his trainer, then back at Dee. He shrugged apologetically and walked on.

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She made it to the outskirts of Viridian City and stopped there for the night. She remembered reading somewhere that a good portion of humans didn't view hybrids as people, despite their obvious resemblance. Those same humans feared hybrids because they were different. A few of the humans were good enough, but they still were wary of hybrids, fearing that, by helping them out, the discrimination would extend to them as well.

As Dee looked longingly out at the lights of the city, her thoughts were drawn to the stone that Rose had given her. She pulled it out and examined it again. She thought about Rose and what he had said to her before she'd left the orphanage that morning.

"My gift to you…" He'd said, "Something to remember me by….."

Rose had walked away before Dee could thank him properly and had just put it in her hand and walked away. Dee remembered that and put the small gem around her neck again. She pulled out her bed roll and tent from her pack and set up a camp site a little ways from the edge of the forest. She thought about her friends one last time before falling asleep, the silence of the forest even more comforting than before.

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	5. Chapter 5

Dee woke up the next morning to an extremely loud scream coming from somewhere in the forest. She got up out of her tent, still in the clothes she'd left the orphanage, and poked her head out of the tent, eyes half closed, ears perked up to listen for anything else that might be around. She jumped out of the tent and stood, fully awake when she heard the second scream and started to run in the direction of the noise. It wasn't too long before she found what all the commotion was about. Dee had reached a small clearing with what looked like a whole hive of Beedrill attacking a small black and blue figure that had a small stack of Pecha Berries cradled in its arms.

She heard the scream again and saw the lead Beedrill swoop in and jab the figure in the back with its vicious needles. The figure stumbled and fell to the ground, unconscious. The Berries that it was carrying spilled over the ground and the Beedrill swooped in and punctured them where they lay on the ground. Dee looked on in horror as the Beedrill turned to the figure and started to attack it. Dee couldn't take anymore and ran to help out the figure. When she got closer, the Beedrill turned around to look at her and she saw that the figure was a Riolu. The Beedrill swarmed to surround Dee before she got close enough to the leader and take it out. They started buzzing angrily at her, a warning not to interfere with their "fun".

Dee just breathed deeply three times. On the fourth breath, she let out a plume of flames from her mouth that spun around her body and engulfed the Beedrill surrounding her. They fell to the ground for a moment, then realizing that they were in trouble, got back up and flew away from the clearing as fast as their charred wings could carry them. Dee turned to see the lead Beedrill still attacking the unconscious Riolu, oblivious to the fact that it was about to face down a fire type hybrid.

"HEY!" Dee shouted, "Leave him alone!"

The Beedrill turned around from its work and looked at Dee with something akin to hate. It noticed that its gang had fled the scene and noticed the small plume of flame that came out of Dee's mouth with every controlled breath. The Beedrill sweat dropped as Dee walked closer and turned and flew away with an extremely angry sounding buzz.

Dee let her flame die and went to the Riolu. He was still breathing, but barely. She picked up the injured Pokemon and ran as fast as she could back to her tent. She packed up her things as quickly as she could and picked up the Riolu again. She turned towards the city and began to run as fast as she could to the Pokemon Center.

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Dee made it through the city without a huge problem, though she did receive more than a few stares as she passed the shops and buildings along the way. As she walked up to the Center, she was stopped by a man and a woman in black suits with red "R" on them. They asked if she would like to participate in a survey, but she just blew past them as fast as she could and went into the Pokemon Center. She found Nurse Joy and told her what had just happened with the Beedrill and also asked her to call Officer Jenny to take care of the people who were loitering outside of the center. As she got done talking with Jenny about the Team Rocket members, she went over to Nurse Joy and asked how the Riolu was doing.

"He's doing fine, but he keeps mumbling something in his sleep," Joy said, "Something about his sister, a Lucario being really sick…"

Dee looked thoughtful and asked, "I think I can help out…"

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Dee pulled out her stone and looked at the sleeping Riolu. She didn't know why she was compelled to do so, but she followed her gut and touched the stone to his forehead and felt a small surge of her own energy. She looked around and saw herself in the same small clearing where she had first met the Riolu. She looked around and saw the Riolu and a Lucario playing in the clearing. The Lucario suddenly tensed up as a Beedrill attacked her from behind. The Riolu looked on in horror as the Beedrill just flew away, laughing.

Dee pulled back the stone from the Riolu's forehead, wondering how she knew to do that. She put the stone up and immediately went back to Nurse Joy, asking for the medicine she needed.

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Dee went back out that night to the clearing, using the Riolu's memory to guide her. She'd even picked up a faint smell coming from the Lucario while she was in the memory. Dee sniffed the air around her and picked up the Lucario's scent coming from somewhere to her right. Dee followed the scent to a small cave and pulled out a flashlight from her pack and turned it on. She covered her head as Zubat and Golbat flew out of the cave at her. She waited until the angry flock flew away into the night and walked into the cave. She didn't go very far when she noticed that the scent was getting a little stronger as she went farther in. Dee sped up her pace and soon found a smoldering fire and the Lucario leaning against the wall of the cave, her breathing shallow and rapid. Dee went over to the Lucario and crouched down next to her. The Lucario shied away from Dee's touch, fearing an attack.

"Your brother asked for my help," Dee said, which wasn't entirely true, "I'm here to take you to a Pokemon Center, alright?"

The Lucario nodded slowly and allowed Dee to give her the medicine. The Lucario fell asleep about halfway to the Center. Dee, who worried about the Lucario, hurried to the Center as fast as her legs could carry her, being much more comfortable in the city now that everyone was asleep. Dee made it to the Center and looked over at Nurse Joy.

"I found her… help her out…" Dee said, panting heavily as she laid the unconscious Lucario on the gurney that a Blissey had wheeled in. Dee watched as the Lucario was wheeled into the intensive care area of the center and sat down on a bench. Then she remembered that she was supposed to meet with Professor Oak that afternoon, and looking at the clock, it was about six o'clock at night.

Dee sighed and went over to the phones and called Prof. Oak.

"Hello?" asked the voice of Oaks assistant, Tracey.

"Um... my name is Denae Hues… I need to speak with Professor Oak please." Dee said uncertainly as Tracey looked thoughtful.

"Alright, I'll go and get him," Tracey said.

The screen went blank for a moment and Dee heard Tracey yell out for the Professor.

Tracey came back into view again and said, "He'll be down in a few minutes, alright?"

Dee nodded and said nothing, being a little too tired to say too much.

Tracey left the phone and Professor Oak limped into view with a cane to support himself. Oak was getting older and, even though he was still greatly respected by the Pokemon community, especially the other Professors, he was almost on his last leg, though he'd defiantly say, "I'm not dead yet!" to anyone who brought up the subject to him.

"Good evening, young lady, to what do I account this rather late call?" Oak asked a little tired, but still in good humor.

"Um… I was supposed to come to your lab and pick up my first Pokémon today, but I kinda got hung up in Viridian earlier…" Dee started.

"Oh! You're the Hybrid trainer that was supposed to swing by today, aren't you?" Oak asked with sudden realization.

Dee nodded and Oak said, "Don't worry too much about that, I'm sure that you'll get here when you get here, but… I'm afraid that I don't have any more Pokémon for trainers in yet, so you'd have to wait a while for one."

Dee looked crestfallen at the news and said, "Oh… that's alright, Professor, I can deal with that…"

Oak looked a little sad to Dee when he said, "Don't worry, everything has a way of working out in the end, I promise. I'll see you when you get to Pallet Town, alright?"

Dee nodded and said, "Good night, Professor."

---

Dee went up to the desk where an attendant was sitting and asked, "Is there a way I could stay here for the night?"

The attendant looked up and said, "We don't cater to _your_ kind here."

Nurse Joy walked out of the Operating Room and exclaimed, "Yes we do! I don't ever want to hear you saying that kind of thing ever again, do you understand me?!"

Joy walked up to the attendant and slapped her in the face. "You're fired! Get out of My Pokémon center!"

The attendant looked taken aback, but complied anyway. She packed up her stuff, looked with hatred at Dee and walked haughtily out of the building.

Joy looked at Dee and said, "I'm sorry, that usually doesn't happen… But you're the first hybrid trainer we've had in here… But that doesn't excuse her behavior."

Dee shrugged and said, "I'm not worried about it, but I'm worried about the Pokémon I brought in earlier… Are they alright?"

Joy smiled and said, "They're in serious condition, but they're stable for the moment. The Riolu is awake at the moment, if you want to see him."

Dee nodded and followed Joy to the Recovery Room.


	6. Chapter 6

Dee and Nurse Joy walked into the recovery room and saw that the Riolu was awake and looking around at his surroundings. He looked curious and afraid at the same time and he jumped at every little sound. He just about fainted when he saw Dee walk into the room. He recovered though and sat back up against his pillow.

"He's all yours," Joy said.

"Um… alright," Dee said uncertainly. She walked towards the Riolu, but he just growled. Dee remembered how badly he was beaten and said, "I'm here to tell you what happened earlier today." She went in depth with the story and tried her best to make the Riolu understand. The small jackal Pokémon looked very intelligent for his age and surprised her by speaking in the same language that Dee was so fond of.

"You… helped us?" he asked curiously.

"Yes," Dee said simply.

The Riolu looked suddenly wary and asked, "Did you catch us? That is what most humans see as help…"

Dee shook her head and said, "I just became a trainer today, but I don't have any money to go buy any pokéballs… So you and your sister are as free as the day you were born."

The Riolu looked skeptical, but didn't press Dee for more answers. He lay back down against his pillow and asked, "How's Lacey?"

"Lacey?" Dee asked then realized that must be his sister's name, "Oh, your sister… she's doing better, but I'm still not too sure how she'll recover. If I had gotten to you guys sooner, I'd have been able to help more…"

The Riolu just looked relieved and said, "Ryun."

"Huh?" Dee said, looking confused.

"My name, it's Ryun," Ryun said again.

"Oh… My name is Denae… but most of my friends just call me Dee for short," Dee said with a smile.

Ryun didn't hear her because he'd fallen into an exhausted sleep. Dee smiled at the young Pokémon and got up to check on his sister. As she did so, she heard a small sigh come from Ryun's mouth that sounded almost like "Dee"…

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Dee walked back out to the main desk and asked Joy where Ryun's sister was.

"Oh… she's in… I'll just show you," Joy said hesitantly.

"Alright…" Dee said curiously.

Joy took Dee to the Operating Room and showed her where Lacey was. The Lucario was in severe condition. She was bandaged up around her midsection, her chest spike sticking out of her bandage. Her left arm was in a splint. Joy looked with pity on the sleeping form of the Lucario and said, "It's lucky you found her when you did… otherwise we would have never found her or her brother… They owe your lives to you…"

Joy did a double take when she turned to leave and found that Ryun had followed Dee from his room. The Riolu looked like he was in pain, but he shoved through it so he could see his sister. Dee had to admit that the little guy was pretty tough for.

"I-Is she going to be alright?" Ryun asked, almost crying to see his sister.

Joy looked surprised at the human speech, but said, "Pokémon tend to heal faster than humans or hybrids, though hybrids still heal miraculously fast. She'll be fine come this time next week. I promise."

Ryun looked very pleased about that and asked, "Can I see her?"

Joy nodded and said, "Sure… but try not to startle her, alright?"

Dee watched as the Riolu motioned for her to follow him and looked at Joy for approval. She smiled and nodded, then she opened the door to the room. The two walked in and sat down on the chairs on either side of the bed.

Lacey opened her eyes a little and said, "Ryun?"

Ryun looked at his sister and said, "I'm right here, sis…"

"I'm going to be alright… this person helped me out…" Lacey said, a bit of exhaustion creeping into her voice.

Ryun nodded and said, "She helped me out too, her name's Dee."

"Thank you, Dee," Lacey said, " Are we your Pokémon now?"

Dee shook her head and said, "No. I didn't capture you. I'd like to, but I'd have to be heartless or worse to tear apart this family."

Lacey smiled and asked, "Would you be willing to take care of my brother?"

Ryun looked up at his sister in wonder and sadness. "Don't you want me anymore, sis…" he asked.

Dee looked just as surprised as Ryun felt. She said, "I'd be willing to, but what about him? He needs to make that decision, not you or me."

Ryun looked up at Dee and then back at his sister. Lacey said, "Ryun, I'm in no condition to take care of you at the moment… and I doubt that the human named Joy would be willing to take care of you while I recovered… even then, it's time for you to find your own way…"

Ryun looked at his sister, sudden understanding on his face. He looked at Dee and asked, "Can I come with you?"

"You're sure?" Dee asked.

Ryun nodded. Dee said, "Alright, you can come with me. But it's not going to be easy… I'm aiming for nothing less than a total Kanto League victory here…. Do you still want to come?"

Ryun nodded again, then looked at his sister. "I'm coming with you…" he said.

"Alright… I'll talk to Nurse Joy and make sure that your sister is taken care of while she recovers," Dee said as she got up to leave the room.

Lacey put a paw on Dee's arm and said, "Dee… thank you. Not very many people would do what you just did."

Dee just smiled at the pair and left the room.


	7. Chapter 7

~THE NEXT DAY~

Dee had spoken to Joy about Lacey's condition and asked if she'd be able to stay for a while longer after she fully recovered. Joy said that she didn't see a problem with it if she made herself useful.

Lacey was still asleep when she went to tell her the news. Ryun on the other hand, hadn't left his sister's side the whole night, and was out cold next to his sister. Dee thought that the whole thing was rather cute, but decided not to wake the pair.

Ryun looked up and asked, "Are we leaving?"

"Not yet… but you should get ready to go soon," Dee said, "We're going to Pallet Town to see Professor Oak. I was supposed to see him yesterday, but…"

"Alright," Ryun said.

Dee left the room after seeing Lacey wake up and telling her that she'd be able to stay at the Center indefinitely as long as she made herself useful. Lacey nodded and thanked Dee before going back to sleep.

----

~THAT AFTERNOON~

Dee and Ryun got ready to leave the Pokémon Center. Ryun said his goodbyes to his sister and Dee called Professor Oak to let him know that they were on their way. Before they left, Joy gave Dee a Pokéball. She said that treating Pokémon was easier if they had a ball to go into, but Dee just smiled and said, "If a Pokémon wants to join me, I'm not going to capture them. No Pokéballs for me thanks."

Joy looked surprised at that kind of tactic, but gave the Pokéball to Dee anyway.

Dee took the ball and decided that it was best not to argue with a Nurse.

-----

Ryun and Dee made it through the city and out to the countryside surrounding Viridian City. They took a break on a hill overlooking the city and Dee brought out some food that she had gotten from the Pokémon Center. She built a small fire pit and put some logs in it to fuel the fire. Then she exhaled three times, like with the fight against the Beedrill, and on the fourth breath, she sent a few embers from her mouth onto the fire. The logs immediately caught fire and began to crackle merrily in the afternoon sun.

"Why did you start a fire?" Ryun asked.

"You don't want to eat cold food do you?" Dee countered.

"Well… alright," Ryun relented with a grin.

Dee smiled back at her first Pokémon and brought out a small cooking pot that Joy had included with the food.

"I've got to hand it to Nurse Joy, she really does think of everything," Dee said with a smile.

"Yeah…" Ryun said.

"So… why don't you tell me a little about yourself?" Dee asked.

Ryun looked taken aback at this and said, "There's not much to tell… My sister and I had a family… but it was torn apart by something… I can't really remember, I guess it's because I was too young at the time."

'Kid's been through a lot, apparently,' Dee thought to herself.

"I'm an orphan," Dee said aloud, "I was left at the doorstep of the orphanage when I was a baby. I've lived there ever since. It wasn't a bad life… but I really did want something more, y'know?"

Ryun nodded. He looked at the fire, which was now hot enough to cook food on and said, "Do you remember your family at all?"

Dee curled up and let her hands wrap around her knees. She bent her head forward a little and said, "Not really… all I know is that my mother was a Ninetails and that my father was human. All I have to remember them is this shard of a Fire Stone that my dad apparently gave to my mom before I was born."

Dee pulled out the necklace the her father had given her mother as she spoke. It was exactly like before, with the pearls a slight orange color in the fire light. The center pearl, which was the largest, had the shard of Fire Stone inserted into its core, to prevent it from accidentally triggering an evolution in Dee if she didn't want it.

Ryun looked at the necklace in wonder and said, "It's really beautiful."

"I can only imagine what my parents are doing… I don't even know if they're alive still," Dee said, "But I don't think that I'll have too much time to worry about that… We'll have some training to do between now and the Pokémon League."

Ryun nodded and looked up at the sky. It was starting to get a little dark, and the sun was already setting for the night. He also noticed that his stomach was growling and put a paw up to it in embarrassment.

Dee giggled at that motion and started to cook some of the food that Joy had given them.

About an hour after their conversation, their dinner was ready and they had started to eat. Dee and Ryun ate in silence that first night, a little too unused to each other's company as the night went on. After dinner Dee set up the tent for the night and looked at Ryun.

"You can sleep in here if you want, y'know," Dee said.

Ryun looked up from where he was sitting and blushed a little under his fur.

"Thanks," He said after a moment.

"I'd do the same for anyone, I'm just too Sweet for my own good sometimes," Dee said with a shrug. She climbed into the tent and climbed into her sleeping bag. Joy had thought ahead and provided one for Ryun as well, seeing as Dee had refused to put the Riolu into a Pokéball.

Ryun climbed in after making sure that Dee was sound asleep and crawled into his own sleeping bag. He looked at Dee for what seemed line ages, then fell asleep with some very entertaining dreams to keep him company.


	8. Chapter 8

Ryun woke up from his rather pleasant dreams first. It took him a little while to remember what had happened the previous night, then he saw Dee sleeping next to him and knew where he was. He crawled out of his sleeping bag and fumbled with the zipper to the tent for a moment before he managed to get it opened. He followed his sense of smell to a small stream where he washed his face with some of the cold water that ran from it. Refreshed, he found Dee awake and looking around for him. He thought about how easy it'd be if he'd just left her to do his own thing and came close to leaving her by herself, but he found that he couldn't leave Dee. Not yet, at least.

-------------------

Dee found Ryun walking towards her from an area close to the forest that they had just cleared. He looked like he'd splashed some water on his face, so she stopped worrying as much and went about packing up her belongings. Once the camp site was packed and cleaned up, Dee and Ryun set out for Pallet Town to see Professor Oak.

------------------

That afternoon found the pair at the outskirts of Pallet Town. The town was situated so that people could live quite comfortably, even without most of the extras that cities had. Most of the food was grown, but some things, like ground beef, had to be bought. Dee even thought that she saw Delia Ketchum and her Mr. Mime out in front of her house, cleaning. Dee felt overwhelmed at being in the hometown of one of Pokémon Training's legends and bowed her head in respect. Ryun just kept on walking and eventually stopped when he noticed that Dee wasn't following anymore.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I'm starting out… the same way that HE did when he began his journey…" Dee said in awe.

"You mean Ash?" Ryun asked.

"Yes… I guess that even Pokémon must know the name by now," Dee said, not asking where he'd learned the name.

"Yeah… He's a legend himself now. Most trainers that Pokémon meet now want to see if he really lives or not…" Ryun said, "The proof is in his house down there I guess…"

Dee nodded and looked towards the Ketchum house. Delia had met with someone and had allowed him to come into the house, Mr. Mime following behind. Dee couldn't tell who the person was, but she could tell that he was using a cane to help himself walk.

"I'd like to go and visit the house..." Dee said suddenly.

Ryun nodded, understanding why Dee wanted to go. He followed behind her as she walked to the house. Dee stopped at the gate of the house and looked at it in wonder. Here was living proof that Ash Ketchum existed. His mother sat in the house that young Ash had watched Pokémon battles on his TV while he slept in the same room, dreaming of becoming a Pokémon Master. A few years later, Ash is one of the up and coming trainers, coming close to the championship in two Pokémon League tournaments, finally reaching that goal in the Sinnoh Tournament when Dee had turned ten. He'd gone on another Journey after that, to Arceus knew where, and had yet to resurface. Some people said that he'd died on the journey, others, like Delia Ketchum, knew that he was still alive and well somewhere in the world. Dee shared that belief and hoped to meet Ash one day.

"Can I help you?" came a female voice, jolting Dee from her reverie.

Dee looked up in surprise and saw that Delia had walked out onto the porch with Professor Oak following close behind.

"Oh…um… hi," Dee said meekly.

"Hello there, Denae," Professor Oak said cheerily.

Dee just looked a little surprised to find that Professor Oak knew Ash's mother. She'd known that Ash had received his Pikachu from Oak as his starter Pokémon, but beyond that, she didn't know what kind of connection the two had.

"Do you know her?" Delia asked the professor.

"She's a new trainer that came to get her starter Pokémon. I'm going to take her to my lab, then we'll be back for lunch, alright, Delia?" Oak said.

Delia nodded and went back into the house. Oak looked at Dee and asked, "Shall we move along then?"

Dee nodded and motioned to Ryun. Oak noticed the Riolu following Dee and asked," Is he yours?"

"In a way, yes… I chose not to put him in a Pokéball though… I figured that he'd like the fresh air more. And he decided to follow me of his own free will," Dee explained.

Ryun looked at Professor Oak and said, "I'm not going into one of those little prisons."

Oak looked startled and said, "He can talk?!"

"Is that so hard to believe? Lucario can understand human speech, I learned it from my sister," Ryun said.

They went into a discussion about Pokémon that lasted the whole way to Oak's lab, which was on a hill overlooking a rather large plot of land. Pokémon of all sorts were running around the ranch, from Tauros (most of which Ash had caught), to Sceptile and Bulbasaur. Oak took care of a lot of Pokémon on his ranch, the majority being Ash's and his grandson, Gary's. Gary was out and about, studying Pokémon like his grandfather, Ash was still going after his dream.

Oak led the two into his living room where Tracey and his Marill were cleaning up after Ash's over affectionate Muk. Oak gestured to one of the few remaining clean seats and said, "Go ahead and take a seat real quick. There's something I need to tell you."

Dee sat down, Ryun opting to sit in her lap. Ryun blushed a bit at his own daring, but Dee just grinned and allowed it.

-----

"The Pokémon League has opted to have me and every other Professor of Pokémon tell hybrid trainers that they are not allowed to receive starter Pokémon. They told me that because most hybrids can use attacks like their pure Pokémon counterparts, it'd be unfair to human trainers because they'd have an advantage that others wouldn't. They also said that hybrid trainers were only allowed to have five Pokémon, instead of the usual six for the same reason," Oak started, "I must apologize, but I can't give you a starter Pokémon, because of your differences…"

Professor Oak looked saddened by that fact and went on to say, "If I had things my way, you'd get that starter Pokémon… I'm sorry, Denae."

Ryun looked up at Dee from his perch on her lap. She looked down at him, her hair obscuring her face. Ryun looked back at Oak and said, "I'm her starter Pokémon."

Dee looked at the Riolu in surprise. Oak just looked pleased at the news and said, "You really do care for her, even though you just met. It's settled!" Oak got up and clapped his hands together, "You need to register here at my computer real quick, come!"

Dee picked up Ryun and hugged him quickly, then set him down so they could follow Oak to his computer. "Hand me your Pokèdex, please," Oak said, holding his hand out.

Dee complied and handed him the small red device. Oak took it and inserted it into the slot on his PC. The computer took the Pokèdex into itself and a screen showing Dee's picture and trainer information showed up on the monitor. The computer then did all of the registering for Dee and slid out the Pokèdex. Oak took the device and handed her a stack of four Pokéballs from his pocket.

"Unfortunately, you'll have to carry these around… The rules require that you have a Pokéball for your Pokémon on you at all times, yourself excluded, of course," Oak said slowly, as if he didn't want to tell her something.

Ryun looked at the balls in Dee's hand, then up at Dee. "Do it if you have to…" He said.

"But I thought you didn't want to go into these things?" Dee asked.

"I… I don't mind… as long as it's you that has the ball…" Ryun said hesitantly.

Dee looked thoughtful for a moment, then nodded. She brought one of the balls closer to Ryun and enlarged it. She tapped the center of the ball on his forehead and Ryun was immediately drawn into the ball. Ryun had a fleeting image of an enclosed space before he fell asleep. It wasn't so bad in the ball Ryun reasoned. A little cramped, but he could get used to it after a while. As soon as he'd fallen asleep in the ball, Ryun found himself standing next to Dee, who was putting the ball up on her belt, and the rest of the empty Pokéballs into her bag.


	9. Chapter 9

**Dee and Ryun stayed the night at Delia's house, then left early the next morning. Dee looked back at the small town and turned her back to it. Ryun had taken a liking to being on Dee's shoulders, his head sitting on top of hers. That was where he was now, watching the sunrise in the west, thinking about everything that had happened to him over the past three days.**

**Dee started walking towards Viridian City again, and had barely made it a mile from Pallet Town when Dee saw a familiar trainer with a Raichu walking towards them. He stopped, then smirked darkly.**

"**You're a trainer," He stated.**

**Dee nodded. Ryun jumped off of her shoulders as she took off her backpack. She held a hand up to her necklace, then grasped it for a moment. She took three slow, controlled breaths, then on the fourth breath, after the trainer had called out his first Pokémon, a Rhydon, attacked with a vicious Flamethrower.**

**It didn't faze the Rock type very much, but caused sufficient damage to make it growl in pain.**

**The trainer looked surprised at what had happened, then grinned darkly. "Don't hold back Rhydon."**

**The Rhydon growled an affirmative, then moved faster than Dee thought a Rhydon could move and hit her with its horn drill. Dee grunted a little, making Ryun start to move to help, but he thought better of it, knowing that Dee wanted to do this on her own. Dee recovered enough to dodge the Rhydon's next attack, which was a Rock Throw. Dee countered with her Fire Spin, engulfing the Rock Pokémon in flames hot enough to melt glass. When the flames died down, the Rhydon was out cold. Its trainer looked shocked at the sudden turn of events, but recovered and sent out his next Pokémon. A Butterfree fluttered out of the Pokéball as the light that summoned it died down. Dee thought for a moment, then looked back at Ryun. He got the hint, and, as Dee jumped back, Ryun took her place.**

**The trainer looked surprised at this tactic, being wary of the hybrid's judgment. Ryun looked ready to battle and with a command from Dee, rushed in to attack with a Bone Rush. Ryun slammed his paws together and made a bone shaped staff appear as he brought his paws apart. Ryun started to swing the staff with the familiarity of a master monk and hit the Butterfree with every attack, leaving no opening for the Insect/flying Pokémon to retaliate. After about twenty hits, the Butterfree was in the same condition as the Rhydon, out cold on the ground. The trainer, getting a little angry at this turn of events, looked at his Raichu. The Raichu understood the unspoken order, and ran forward. Ryun looked back at Dee for an order. She motioned for him to step back, and he did so, his bone staff disappearing.**

**Dee stepped forward again, surprising the trainer once more. The trainer said, "Give her everything you have, Raichu!"**

**Dee took her usual three controlled breaths, then, once again on the fourth breath, Dee let out a small plume of flames from her mouth. She dodged the Raichu's Quick Attack as it came in close. Raichu cut the attack off short, just as Dee unleashed an Overheat attack on the unsuspecting electric mouse. The Raichu took the attack head on and sustained a severe burn. Raichu retaliated with a Thunderbolt, effectively paralyzing Dee for a moment while it hit her with an Iron Tail. Dee stifled a scream as she took the hit, thinking out her next move. She looked over at a nearby tree and got a sudden idea. She recovered from the paralysis just as the Raichu moved in for another Iron Tail. Dee dodged the attack and ran towards the tree. She climbed it as fast as a Mankey, and jumped out over Raichu. Dee did a quick somersault in the air while breathing flames from her mouth. She attacked with Flame Wheel just as Raichu looked up, and knocked the Pokémon out.**

**The trainer looking shocked at the turn of events, then passed out. Dee remembered that half of the opposing trainer's cash was prize money, and recovered three hundred dollars from his wallet. Dee and Ryun walked off, feeling that they had accomplished something great that morning.**

**They made it through Viridian City that afternoon to the Pokémon center, where Nurse Joy and Lacey greeted them with warm smiles. Lacey had recovered enough that she could walk around the Center a little bit, but only if Nurse Joy or Chansey were around to make sure that she didn't hurt herself again.**

**After their brief respite, and being completely healed, Dee and Ryun left for the next town.**


	10. Chapter 10

Dee looked out over Pewter City with a look of happiness on her face. Ryun looked up at Dee and suddenly looked away, blushing under his fur again.

_What's wrong with me?_ He thought to himself.

Dee noticed his look and asked, "Are you alright, Ryun?"

"Yes, why wouldn't I be?" Ryun answered.

"If you say so…" Dee said, not fooled for an instant. She looked out at the city again before setting off for the gym where another of Ash's companions awaited her.

----

Dee walked through the city, unperturbed that she was receiving glares and other looks as she passed the people in the street. Ryun looked out over Dee's head from his perch on her shoulders and wondered why people stared at them so much. He shrugged and put it out of his mind for a while.

Dee reached the Pokémon Center and decided to head into the building to get herself and Ryun checked out. As she walked in the door, a man with black hair and perpetually squinted eyes walked out, nursing a wound to his back from a Croagunk that was walking a little ways ahead of him. He noticed Dee and stopped suddenly and started to flirt with her. The Croagunk growled menacingly at the man and he cringed and said, "Sorry…."

Dee just walked past, ignoring the man and entered the building.

Joy noticed the proceedings and said, "I see you've already met Brock then."

Dee looked back in surprise and said, "That was Brock? Is he always like that with girls?"

Joy giggled a little and said, "Only with the ones he thinks are attractive, it really doesn't matter to him if you're a hybrid or not. Now then, what can I do for you?"

"Wow…" Dee said softly, "um… I'd like to get a check up for me and Ryun here." She lifted Ryun off of her head and held him close to her chest lightly. He squirmed when he got picked up, then stopped when she held him. He blushed a deep crimson as she held him to her chest, feeling the softness of her breasts against his fur.

"Alrighty then," Joy said with a quick smile, "Let's get started shall we?"

-----------

After their check up, Dee and Ryun went over to Brock's gym. It was a large building, shaped like a boulder, symbolizing Brock's original element, the rock type Pokémon. They entered the building, Ryun tensing up in Dee's arms, getting ready for the fight he knew was coming. As they walked in, a man that looked like Brock looked up and called out, "Brock! We've got a challenger!"

"Moving, dad!" was Brock's reply. He came running, pulling out a Pokéball from behind his belt, Brock's father doing the same.

"Alright, shall we get this started?" Brock said, then doing a double take and starting to run at Dee with a look of "first love" on his face. Before he could even get close to Dee, Croagunk hit him in the back with a Poison Jab and dragged him back to his position next to his father. Brock's dad just burst out laughing and said, "You're on your own here, and I'd rather ref this match."

He moved off the field and put his Pokéball back on his belt. Brock recovered from his momentary paralysis and said, "Sorry… I guess you already know that I'm Brock, You must be Dee."

"How did you know my name?" Dee asked as she put Ryun down and moved onto the field herself.

"Professor Oak called ahead of time, he's friends with Misty, the gym leader in the next town as well," Brock answered, "Alright, no holding back, ONIX!"

With that last word, Brock tossed out a Pokéball and his trusted Onix appeared from the light. Dee looked up at the towering figure of the rock snake and took a step back, fearing that she'd get crushed under its tremendous weight. She stopped and remembered her own personal training from back at the orphanage. She took three deep breaths, exhaling slowly, and on the fourth breath, let out a small plume of fire from her mouth. Brock looked surprised. He'd never heard of a trainer fighting, instead of the Pokémon, but then again, he'd never fought a hybrid trainer before.

Brock's Onix took a look at Dee, then looked back at Brock questioningly. Brock studied Dee, then said, "Onix, dodge!" as Dee attacked with Wil-o-wisp. Onix didn't dodge in time and was burned pretty badly. Before Onix could recover, Dee attacked with a Flamethrower, coating Onix in cherry red after the attack ended. The rock snake tried to keep itself up, but couldn't for very long and passed out, the smoke rising off of his body triggering the sprinkler system. Dee looked up and covered herself with a Poncho before she got too soaked to fight anymore. She jumped back and Ryun took her place.

Brock looked at the body of his Onix and recalled it into its Pokéball.

"That was a good one, Dee!" He said, "But we're not done yet!"

At that last word, Brock tossed out another Pokéball and his Forretress took the field. Ryun looked back at Dee for instructions and she complied. Ryun attacked with a Force Palm, effectively damaging the Steel/Grass Pokémon. Forretress countered with a Pin Missile attack. It hit Ryun dead on and he grunted in pain. He stood his ground, using Bone Rush to defend as best he could. Eventually, Forretress stopped the attack, looking exhausted from the intensity of its attack. Ryun took that opportunity to finish off the weakened Pokémon, then was caught off guard by a sudden Explosion from Forretress. Ryun was sent flying into the other end of the stadium, while Forretress was knocked out cold. Dee watched Ryun's Progress in horror as he flew into the wall and made a small crater in the granite that had stopped his flight. She ran to her first Pokémon's side, checking to see if he was alright.

"Ryun… Ryun!!" Dee said desperately.

Brock ran over to check on the Riolu as well and said, "He's hurt pretty badly… but he'll make it, he's just knocked out. I'd put him in his Pokéball."

Ryun woke up a little and said, "No… I'll wait on the bench for her…" then he got up and hobbled over to the bench where Brock's father was refing the match. Brock and Dee took their respective sides of the field, Dee being at a disadvantage due to the water that was still falling from the sprinkler system. Brock looked at the last Pokéball he was allowed, then threw the ball. It burst open, revealing Croagunk.

The frog like Pokémon just looked at Dee with a bored look in its eyes. It suddenly ran at Dee, its hand glowing a violent shade of purple. She recognized the attack as Poison Jab and dodged it the best she could with her poncho on. Croagunk pressed the attack and ripped the poncho to shreds. The water hit Dee like a slap to the face. Steam started to roll off her body in waves as the water hit her fire type body. Dee took three controlled breaths, then let the fourth one out as a roar of flames that arched upwards towards the ceiling, melting the sprinklers shut. Dee shivered as the last of the falling water hit her. Brock looked surprised at her daring, then recovered a bit so he could finish the fight. Brock sent Croagunk in with a Shadow Ball, which Dee made explode in the air with a well placed Ember. Then she went in to attack with Mega Kick, a tactic that surprised the hell out of Brock as Croagunk was thrown against the wall. Croagunk tried to get back up and retaliate, but Dee finished the battle with Flame Wheel. Croagunk was out cold against the wall, smoke rising off of its skin.

Brock recalled Croagunk, then started to clap as his father said, "Brock is out of useable Pokémon! The winner is Dee!"

Dee looked surprised, as did Ryun. They had expected the battle to go on for hours, but It had only lasted about thirty minutes. Brock walked over to Dee as she walked to Ryun, who was still on the bench. Ryun hugged and kissed Dee before he knew it, and blushed madly afterwards at his own daring. Dee recognized his attraction to her in an instant.

Brock offered to cook lunch for them both as they recovered from their fight, Dee accepted of course.

She took one bite of Brock's food and exclaimed, "WOW! That's the best Chicken Alfredo I've ever had!"

Ryun looked appreciatively at his teriyaki chicken and said something similar, even though it was his first time eating human food. Brock said that it was especially made so that he could enjoy whatever Dee was eating and even offered to teach Dee how to cook it just right so that Ryun didn't get sick from eating all of the same foods as her.

---------

After the meal, just as Dee and Ryun were getting ready to leave, Brock came up to her and said, "I probably should've given this to you after our battle, but here." In Brock's hands were a Badge Case, a Technical Machine (TM for short) and the Boulder Badge. "I probably should have given this to you right after our match, but you both looked like you could use a home-cooked meal," Brock said, "But here they are now, so… yeah…" Brock trailed off at the end, looking warily at his Croagunk, which was now out of its Pokèball and keeping a close eye on Brock as he spoke to Dee.

Dee shook Brocks hand and said, "We'll be going now, I can't keep Misty waiting, now can I?"

Brock shook his head and waved at Dee's retreating form with Ryun on his usual perch.


	11. Chapter 11

Dee and Ryun left Pewter City far behind them the next day. They had made some good progress before they had set up for the night. Dee was fast asleep after dinner, which Dee prepared herself for them. Ryun couldn't sleep that night. He crawled out of his sleeping bag next to Dee and quietly unzipped the tent. He followed the scent of water to a small creek and sat down next to it. He began thinking about a lot of things, until he finally ended up thinking about his feeling about Dee. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even notice that Dee had walked up behind him.

Dee sat down next to Ryun and said, "You have a crush on me, don't you?"

Ryun looked up, startled and said, "Yes. It's not like I can be what you want me to be though…"

"What do you mean by that, Ryun?" Dee asked.

"Her… your lover from the orphanage," Ryun said sadly.

"How did you know?" Dee asked.

"Riolu are tuned to the emotions of others. We can sense the troubles that others have and all that stuff… I don't really know too much about it myself, but I can sense that you miss her," Ryun said.

"Oh… well… I don't really know what to say except… You're you, Ryun. Don't try to be someone else because that would just make life miserable for you. Just be you, Ryun, I'm sure you'll find someone for you," Dee said as she gave him a hug, "Let's get back to bed."

Ryun sat there for a moment, then agreed and followed Dee back to the tent.

The next day, they packed up their campsite and started to head out for Mount Moon again. Along the way, they met up with a familiar trainer a few miles away from the Pokèmon Center. It was the same trainer that Dee had met when she had first started out on her journey. He looked at Dee with something akin to hatred in his eyes.

"So. It's you again," He said.

"Yes, I guess we have to battle now," Dee said, preparing for the fight.

"Yes, That's how it goes, Hybrid," He said scornfully, "I guess you're not as stupid as you look."

Dee shrugged off the trainer's comment and said, "I'll surprise you in other ways too."

The trainer didn't answer, but instead looked back at his Raichu, which jumped forward and tried to attack with Thunder. Ryun went in also and attacked with Bone Rush, bringing his bone staff out for a quick slap to the side of the head. Raichu rolled away at the last moment as its trainer threw out another two Pokèballs to join in the fight.

"That's not allowed! This was a one on one fight, you know it!" Dee said angrily as the Beedrill and Cubone materialized.

"Hmpf. Like I care, you pathetic Hybrid," the trainer said, his hate overriding everything he knew about Pokèmon battles. Dee took off her ball cap, which she picked up in Pewter City, and her pack and set them aside. Then she joined Ryun in his battle against three different Pokèmon. She took her three breaths as she dodged a Bonemerang from Cubone, a Thundershock from Raichu, and a Pin Missile from Beedrill. Her Flamethrower took out the Beedrill in a single hit, but it didn't even scratch the Cubone. Raichu attacked Dee with Quick Attack, completely bypassing Ryun, who spun to attack a little too late. He watched as the Raichu slammed into Dee's stomach and sent her to her knees. Ryun got more angry than he'd ever been in his life. He rushed in to attack Raichu with Bone Rush, but was stopped by Cubone, who had done the same attack and was being blocked at every turn.  
Dee, meanwhile, was getting the short end of the stick, so to speak, and was barely managing to hold her ground against Raichu. It was too fast for her to hit physically and her fire attacks didn't do too much damage to it. Dee was beginning to get a little frustrated when she remembered something that a Raichu Hybrid back at the orphanage said, "Some Raichu have a short temper. You can use that to your advantage when you battle one."

She decided to start taunting the Raichu, making it angrier at her. Eventually, the Raichu messed up and tripped on its own tail. Dee took that opportunity and hit the electric mouse with Flame Wheel, finally knocking it out.  
Ryun was having other problems as the Cubone was matching him blow for blow. He wasn't making any headway, but neither was Cubone. The trainer was getting pissed at the proceedings, looking at the unconscious forms of his Beedrill and Raichu. He stepped in front of Dee and attempted to hit her. Ryun saw this and moved in to take the hit. He was sent flying into a tree where he fell like a rag doll. Dee ran over to him and crouched next to him, worry etched over her face.

"Ryun! Ryun, get up, please!" Dee said frantically. The small jackal lifted his head a little and said, "Are you alright?"

Dee nodded, then looked back at the trainer, who was advancing with his Cubone in tow.  
"You're pathetic," he said coldly, "You might have our shape, but you're still the same as the Pokèmon you train. Even less because of the fact that you're a hybrid."

Ryun got back up on his feet and stood between Dee and the trainer. The trainer looked at Ryun with disgust in his eyes and said, "Back up again? I'll have to fix that..." He motioned to Cubone to keep Dee busy while he took care of Ryun. "You let this... Half-breed train you? Hmpf, you're worse than it is!" He struck out at Ryun with his leg. Ryun caught the kick and sent the trainer to the dirt. The trainer landed on his face, busting open his lip. He got back up on his feet, wiping the blood that was streaming from his face off and said, "Hmpf..." as he kicked at Ryun again. Dee stepped in the way this time, taking the kick for her Pokèmon.

"How noble of you," He said spitefully, " I hate that... you're willingness to sacrifice yourself for others... It's disgusting."

Ryun looked at Dee, then back at the trainer. He switched over to the unconscious forms of the other Pokèmon; Dee had knocked out the Cubone with a well placed Fire Spin before taking the kick. Ryun looked back at Dee again and said, "You didn't have to do that..."

Dee looked back at Ryun and said, "I care too much about you to let this fucking bastard hurt you..."

"How touching," The trainer said, "You should get married! ... I'll take care of you now..."

The trainer reached into his pack and drew out a jet black Pokèball. There was only a single decoration on it and that was a blood read tear drop over the center button. "This'll make you nothing but a mindless slave... which is what you should've been from the start," The trainer said, "It was a gift from my father... before Ash took him out and that stupid air head of a step mom took over his business.

Dee looked at the ball in apprehension and tried to back away before the trainer kicked her in the stomach. Ryun tried to get to her before something happened, but he stopped as a light blue ball of energy destroyed the ball in the trainer's hand.

"Silver, back off," Someone said from between the trees.

Silver held his hand in pain as a Lucario and a black haired trainer stepped from the trees. The trainer was male and he had a ball cap on with a red Pokèball on the front of it. He had a Pikachu on his shoulder and the Lucario was advancing towards Silver with a menacing growl growing in his throat. Silver stepped back and recalled all of his Pokèmon to their balls. Then he turned to Dee and tossed half of his money in her face and said, "Take it, half-breed!" Silver stalked off with a look of hatred in his eye and disappeared into the trees.


	12. Chapter 12

Dee watched as Silver went into the trees, then was overcome by a sudden weariness. She fainted and Ryun ran up to her side as she hit the ground. The last thing she saw was a bright light and Ryun sitting close to her.

The next thing Dee knew, she was waking up next to a warm fire covered in her own blanket and her pack used as a pillow. A young man and a pair of Lucario were there too. One of the Lucario came up to Dee and said in a familiar voice, "Are you alright, Dee?"

Dee nodded uncertainly and said, "Ryun?"

Ryun nodded and said, "I evolved after our little fight with Silver. I'm a Lucario now."

Ryun's appearance had changed a little since he evolved. He had a set of bangs covering a little bit of his eyes, but other than that, he was a normal Lucario in every way. The other Lucario came up to Dee and said, "He must care about you a great deal... otherwise he wouldn't evolve at all."

Ash came up behind Lucario and said, "Yeah, some Pokèmon are like that. But you do have to admit, it makes things a hell of a lot more interesting, right?"

"Yeah..." Dee said before noticing that Ash was sitting next to her. She did a double take and said, "Ash Ketchum! Whoa, I didn't think that I'd meet you outside of the Indigo Plateau! And now you're here!"

Dee sort of calmed down after feeling that her ribs were bruised, with much insisting from Ryun to sit back. She asked Ash all sorts of questions, and he answered them patiently.

"So, what brought you into that little fight with my brother? Well... Half brother anyway," Ash asked.

"Oh..." Dee said, "That. We had met shortly after I left the orphanage, but I didn't have any other Pokèmon on me at the time, so he left me alone. That's all I really know about him..."

"Half brother?" Lucario asked, "Your family gets more and more interesting by the second, Ash."

"Tell me about it... Dad's spirit won't pass on, so he's been hanging around Pokèmon tower for a while. Mr. Fuji came to me about a month ago and told me about it," Ash said, "Remember that little trip to Lavender Town we took at about that time? Well... now you know why."

Ryun looked at Ash and said, "You could've told him, y'know. He is in love with you, after all."

"Thanks for pointing out the obvious, Ryun..." Lucario said with an embarrassed tone.

Dee looked from Lucario to Ash, who was scratching his head with a look of complete confusion on his face. She guessed from the look in his eye that Ryun was right and giggled uncontrollably.

"So, how did it happen, Ash?" Dee asked after she calmed down a bit.

"I set him free from a thousand year old staff. He was completely against me at first, but…" Ash said, "Here we are. Long story short, he helped me find Pikachu and I saved his life."

"More than that…" Lucario said to himself. Ash looked at Lucario and slapped his shoulder. They glared at each other for a minute, then burst out laughing.

Ryun looked at Ash and said, "So it's been working out between you two?"

Ash looked at Ryun and saw why he asked and said, "Every relationship has its ups and downs, but if you keep working at it, they always work out, especially if the other person, or Pokèmon is willing to try."

Dee looked at Ryun and wondered exactly how she felt about him. It wasn't all that hard, but the problem was that she was already seeing somebody. Dee thought about Lucy and wondered how everyone at the orphanage was doing. Dee pulled her thoughts to her surroundings and saw Ash looking at her with a kind smile.

"You miss home, don't you?" He asked.

"Yeah... I miss my friends at home..." Dee said, "But I'm not all that lonely. I'm making friends all the time nowadays."

The Next morning, Dee woke up and stretched a little before getting dressed. Ryun had elected to sleep under a tree. He was standing in the tree on a high branch, watching the sunrise. Ash and Lucario were already up and sparring with each other, testing their boundaries as fully as they could. Ash looked like he'd dealt a finishing blow to Lucario. But he knocked Ash flat on his ass in the next second while Ryun turned and jumped out of the tree to greet Dee. She walked over to the tree line and kept going, looking for something.

"What are you looking for, Dee?" Ryun asked curiously as he followed her.

"Pokèmon," Dee said, "I'd like to have an electric type when we go face Misty."

"Ah. That's a good idea," Ryun said, "Especially with our disadvantages."

"Yep, just have to find the right one, though," Dee said, "It'll have to be powerful, but not so strong that I can't train it."

As Dee finished speaking, she spotted a Jolteon lazing in the sun not far from them. As rare as they were, Jolteon usually aren't wild, so that made them even rarer than usual. Dee assumed that it had been abandoned by its' last trainer and cursed the person who'd abandon a Pokèmon like that.

She snuck up on the Jolteon as quietly as she could with Ryun a little ways behind her. The Jolteon's ears perked up at the sound of crunching leaves and stood up slowly. It looked around and sniffed the air, then walked forward to where Dee was standing. Then it did something completely unexpected. The Jolteon passed out at Dee's feet. There was a set of small mark on its ankle that suggested teeth bites. Dee bent down quickly and examined the Pokèmon a little closer. Its breathing was shallow and rapid. It looked like it had come a long way to get to a Pokèmon center. Dee picked up the Pokèmon and carried it back to the camp, where Ash and Lucario were packing up. Lucario looked up and watched as Dee carried the injured Pokèmon up to Ash. He looked at the Jolteon, then back at Dee.

"You found it like this?" He asked.

"Yes," Dee said, "She looks hurt pretty bad..."

Ash looked around the campsite for something, then said, "Ah-ha! Got one!"

He was holding a ripe Oran Berry in his hand and said, "These help out a little. It'll keep her alive till we can get to a center."

Dee looked at the blue berry as Ash gave it to the Jolteon. It wouldn't move to eat it, but Ash didn't give up. He brought out a bowl from his pack and crushed the berry into it. Then he motioned for Dee to open its mouth as he gingerly tipped tie blue pulpy liquid down Jolteon's throat. Ash massaged Jolteon's throat and her breathing eased a little.

"Do you have a Pokèball?" Lucario asked.

Dee nodded and said, "I do, but I'd rather not capture it unless I have to... Or if it chooses to come with me."

Ash nodded and said, "That's how I've caught every one of my Pokèmon. They decided to join me freely. I guess I have an animal magnetism."

Lucario said loudly, "ASH! Not now!"

Ash flinched as Dee looked confused at the joke and Ryun looked pissed off.

They got over it and helped Dee pick up the Jolteon and cradle it in her arms. They went as fast as they could to the entrance of Mount Moon, where, as Ash fondly remembered, there was a Pokèmon Center conveniently located close to the entrance. They rushed inside and to the front desk, shoving aside another trainer who said, "HEY!"

"Sorry, but it's an emergency!" Dee said, not looking back.

Dee set the injured Pokèmon down on the desk and said, "We found this Jolteon in the woods. She was hurt like this when we found her. I guess she lost a lot of blood before we found her."

Nurse Joy looked at the electric Pokèmon with horror in her eyes. She looked back at Dee and Ash, whose Pikachu had propped itself on his shoulder, and said, "I'm going to do the best I can for her, but I'm not sure if I can save her. We just don't have the man power at the moment, everyone went home, it's a holiday for us here."

Ash nodded and said, "Let us know if there's anything we can do to help."

Joy looked Ash up and down, then said, "We are rather under staffed at the moment, I could use the help. You've just become nurses."

The trainer behind Dee looked at her with a renewed look in his eye, his jet black fur raising.


	13. Chapter 13

**Sorry for the long hiatus, I just couldn't get back into writing at all... Anyway, disclaimers go here, just ask if you want to use any original characters, and enjoy the chapter ^_^**

Dee and Ash watched as Nurse Joy, aided by her ever faithful Chansey, brought the Jolteon into the Emergency room. They sat by and waited, knowing that they couldn't help anymore. They had helped set up the room for Nurse Joy so she could find the problem with the Electric Pokèmon. She watched Jolteon's breathing for a minuet, then brought down a small syringe from a cabinet in the room. She took a small sample of blood, doing her best to comfort the cringing Pokèmon in the process. Joy took the sample over to a different machine and put a drop of blood on a Petri dish. She looked at the sample and almost immediately pushed her chair back and ran to the cabinet again. She took down a small bottle from the very top and a small needle with it. Joy stuck the syringe into the top of the bottle and pulled the fluid into it with a quick motion. She walked quickly, but carefully to the Pokèmon on the examination table and stuck the needle into Jolteon's neck. The electric Pokèmon stiffened for a second, then relaxed as the antidote put her to sleep.

Joy came out of the room with a very hassled look on her face.  
"I don't know what got to her, but you can be damn sure that it wasn't a hunter's trap," Joy said, "A Pokèmon got to her. My guess is that her original trainer abandoned her."

Dee looked at the Pokèmon lying on the table and asked, "Would it be alright if I went and sat with her?"

"Of course, but after she's had time to rest on an actual bed," Joy said watching the Jolteon.

An hour or so later, Ash, who had gone back to the lobby to talk with Lucario and Ryun, looked up to see Dee walking back to the trio with a thoughtful look in her eye.

"What're you up to now, Dee?" Ryun asked.

"Thinking up a name for Jolteon," Dee said simply.

"Hit on any good ones yet?" Ash asked.

"A few, but they don't seem to fit…" Dee said slowly.

Ryun thought for a while as Dee walked away, then decided to go visit Jolteon. He walked into the room and found the Pokemon stirring feebly on the bed that Joy had made up for her. She tried to look around, but laid her head back down.

"Don't try to move," Ryun cautioned, "You're still hurt pretty badly."  
"How did I get here?" Jolteon asked weakly.  
"My friend, Denae brought you here. We found you in the woods ready to pass out. You would've died if it wasn't for her…" Ryun responded.

Jolteon closed her eyes, then said, "Thank you… but I didn't need your help."

Ryun looked curiously at the cat lying on the bed and wondered what had really happened in the forest.

"My friend would like to speak with you later if you feel up to it," Ryun said.

"Don't you mean master? I know what you are," Jolteon said, "Fine, whatever. I'll see her." Jolteon put her head down on the bed and closed her eyes and said as an after thought, "My name is Apria…"

"Mine's Ryun," Ryun said as he left the room.

The next morning, Dee went to see Apria in her room. Apria was awake and sitting on her haunches on the bed looking out the window. She twitched her head a little in Dee's direction. Then went back to the window.

"How are you feeling?" Dee asked.

"Better… I can't believe that I got brought here though…" Apria said.

"How so?"

"I hate humans… they're greedy, selfish and always thinking of themselves. To even think about being helped by a human…. It's a weird concept to me…" Apria said.

"Not all humans are bad," Dee said, "Nurse Joy is an example of a good one. She helps out because she genuinely cares about the Pokèmon around here."

"My former trainer was horrible…" Apria said coldly, "How can I be sure that you won't treat me the same way?"

"Because I haven't captured you yet," Dee said simply, "If I had wanted to catch you, I would've done it back in the forest."

Apria turned and looked at Dee for the first time during their conversation. She had no idea that Dee was a hybrid and was a little shocked by her appearance.

"You're…. Half Pokèmon?" Apria asked.

"Yep," Dee answered, "My father fell in love with his Ninetails apparently… She loved him too I guess… I don't really know who they are and all that stuff… I'm an orphan, like the greater majority of other hybrids…"

"I…I didn't know," Apria said slowly.

"Don't worry about it, I don't," Dee said.

"Why did you help me?" Apria asked suddenly.

Dee took a few minuets to answer, then said, "Because… It should just come naturally to help people, or Pokemon. We shouldn't go looking for a reason to help people because that's it's own reward… at least to me that is."

Apria looked thoughtfully at Dee then said, "I'll come with you…"

Dee looked at Apria and said, "You sure?"

"Yeah," Apria said, "I want to see how your story plays out in the end."

"Alright then… You can come along, Ryun and I would be glad to have you on the team," Dee said holding out her hand. Apria thought for a moment, then held out her paw to Dee and they shook on it.


	14. Chapter 14

After she spoke with Apria, Dee went back out to the lobby to speak with Nurse Joy about getting a room for the night. Ash and Lucario had already left earlier, saying that they were on the way to Pewter City to see Brock now that they knew that Apria was safe.

"Sure, here's the room key. The cafeteria is just down this hallway and you can make some phone calls here if you like. They're video phones too, so you can see the person you're talking to," Joy said as she showed Dee and Ryun where everything is.

"Thanks," Dee said as they went into the cafeteria.

The cafeteria was set up like a buffet style diner. In one corner were some western foods, like macaroni and cheese, pizza, and other foods. In another corner were the eastern foods, like white and fried rice, egg drop soup, and sweet and sour pork. The third corner was taken up by fruits and vegetables and the last corner had all the desserts. There were tables set up in the middle of the room to accommodate trainers and their Pokémon.

"Wow…" Ryun said appreciatively, "Now I know why Pokémon Centers are so damn big…"

"Yeah, they're like hotels for Pokémon Trainers," Dee said.

"That's the idea, newbie," said a voice from behind Dee.

Dee turned around to see who had spoken to her and saw the same trainer she had pushed past earlier in the day.

"Oh, it's you…" Dee said, "I'm sorry about earlier, I was just worried about that Jolteon."

"I know," the hybrid trainer said, "It's alright, how's Jolteon doing?"

"She's doing fine," Ryun said, looking the hybrid up and down, "You're a Luxio hybrid."

"Yeah, so?" the Luxio hybrid said, "And you're a Lucario. How the hell did someone like her get a Lucario as her first Pokémon?"

"Not your business," Dee replied coolly, "And the least you can do is tell us your name. Or should I just call you Luxio?"

"Oh… Right. My name is Sam," he said, "Anyway, I want to have a Pokémon battle with you."

"Fine, I accept, but we won't battle 'till tomorrow, I have a Pokémon in the recovery room," Dee said.

"Right… Tomorrow then," Sam said.

That night, Dee visited Apria in the recovery ward. She walked into the room Apria was staying in to find her Jolteon looking out the window at the stars and the half moon.

"The moon was always beautiful to me," Apria said conversationally.

"I know what you mean," Dee said, walking over to Apria, "I used to sit on the roof of the orphanage and look at the sky."

"You sound like you're in love, y'know," Apria said in a matter of fact tone.

"Yeah," Dee said sheepishly, "I am… Her name is Lucy and I miss her very much…"

"Her," Apria asked curiously, "You're in love with a female?"

"Yeah. It's not uncommon for it to happen now a days, actually," Dee said.

"Is she… Like you?" Apria asked.

"A hybrid? Yes, She's a hybrid. A Luxray hybrid, actually," Dee said, "And she's beautiful too… I wonder how She's doing right now…"

**Alrighty... 'Nother chapter down, but now I'm kinda stuck again. I figured that, since I've brought it up a couple of times, Lucy should have a few chapters to herself. What do you guys think? Lemme know in pm's, please. **

**EDIT: Someone pointed out that I had two names for one character. Sam is supposed to be the name, Not Jerimiah.  
**


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